SEC files appeal in Ripple lawsuit
The SEC originally filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs and its founders in December 2020.On October 2, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a notice of appeal in the Ripple litigation, attempting to reverse Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling.
Legal analysts expected the regulatory agency to challenge the 2023 verdict, which determined that secondary trades of Ripple’s XRP did not constitute securities sales.
Torres determined that XRP was not a security in and of itself because the digital assets did not meet all of the elements outlined in the SEC’s Howey test for classifying a financial asset as an investment contract.
The SEC originally filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs and its founders in December 2020.On October 2, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a notice of appeal in the Ripple litigation, attempting to reverse Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling.
Legal analysts expected the regulatory agency to challenge the 2023 verdict, which determined that secondary trades of Ripple’s XRP did not constitute securities sales.
Torres determined that XRP was not a security in and of itself because the digital assets did not meet all of the elements outlined in the SEC’s Howey test for classifying a financial asset as an investment contract.
Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement chief steps down
On the same day that the SEC filed its notice of appeal in the Ripple lawsuit, the agency announced that its chief enforcement officer, Gubir Grewal, would step down on Oct. 11.
Grewal has long been criticized for bringing draconian enforcement actions against the crypto industry, having suggested more than 100 separate enforcement actions during his tenure.
The government regulator has not formally replaced Grewal, though Sanjay Wadhwa — deputy director of the SEC’s enforcement division — has been chosen as the interim chief enforcement director while a permanent replacement is found.
Bitwise files for XRP ETF trust
Interest in XRP may be growing among institutional investors. According to Cointelegraph, Bitwise filed for an XRP ETF trust in the state of Delaware on September 30. The file, which emerged on the state’s Division of Corporations website, indicates that the corporation is considering an XRP ETF. However, the first registration in Delaware is not an SEC file, and owing to the recent judicial appeal, SEC approval of the XRP trust may be delayed.
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